World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War: Movie Tie-In Edition

Critics who normally wouldn't touch a zombie story with a ten-foot poleax raved over Max Brooks's surprising, satirical novel, soon to be released as a major motion picture starring Brad Pitt. "Probably the most topical and literate scare since Orson Welles's War of the Worlds radio broadcast," noted the Dallas Morning News, while Booklist called World War Z "a horror fan's version of Studs Terkel's The Good War." In blood-spattered reports and personal accounts told after the fact, survivors offer testament on the zombie plague that all but wiped out humanity after national leaders tried to cover up or ignore the problem. And yes, Brooks is the son of comedian Mel Brooks, but don't hold that against him.

"Far more affecting than anything involving zombies really has any right to be.... Brooks commits to detail in a way that makes his nightmare world creepily plausible.... [The book] opens in blood and guts, turns the world into an oversized version of hell, then ends with an affirmation of humanity's ability to survive the worst the world has to offer. It feels like the right book for the right times, and that's the eeriest detail of all."—The Onion